Ground Zero Memorial and Rebuilding Fast Facts

By CNN Library

Updated 12:44 PM ET, Mon September 8, 2014

9/11 memorial and museum23 photos

9/11 memorial and museum – Artifacts from ground zero get a preview at the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York. Among them is a cross made out of steel from the World Trade Center in the 2001 attacks. The museum opens its doors Thursday, May 15, to the 9/11 community -- survivors, rescuers and families -- almost 13 years after terrorists hijacked and crashed four airliners into the towers, killing nearly 3,000 people. The museum will open to the public May 21.

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9/11 memorial and museum – A destroyed New York City Fire Department ambulance from ground zero is on display.

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9/11 memorial and museum – Cards, patches and mementos of those killed at ground zero -- single objects convey the tragedy of that day, the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil.

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9/11 memorial and museum – Audio and visual panels tell the story of 9/11 during a press preview of the memorial.

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9/11 memorial and museum – An American flag was recovered from the World Trade Center site.

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9/11 memorial and museum – Pieces of American Airlines Flight 11 are on display. The plane plowed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001.

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9/11 memorial and museum – The remains of a New York City Fire Department Ladder Company 3 truck are on display outside the historical exhibition area. Eleven members of Ladder 3 died when the North Tower crumbled.

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9/11 memorial and museum – Helmets worn by firefighters on September 11, including those of Christian Waugh, were donated by families.

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9/11 memorial and museum – A photograph at the memorial shows one of the World Trade Center towers collapsing after the attack.

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9/11 memorial and museum – The symbolic "Last Column," right, a steel beam from one of the towers, stands near the "slurry wall," left, which holds back the Hudson River waters.

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9/11 memorial and museum – A firefighter shirt from ground zero is on view.

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9/11 memorial and museum – Visitors peer through the windows of the museum on May 8.

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9/11 memorial and museum – Charlotte Newman, 8, visits the National September 11 Memorial on September 8.

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9/11 memorial and museum – The wedge-shaped pavilion entrance of the museum, center, is located between the square outlines of the memorial waterfalls at the World Trade Center.

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9/11 memorial and museum – A visitor to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum takes in the sight as he walks past on September 6.

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9/11 memorial and museum – A rose is placed next to the name of a victim of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center at the North Pool of the memorial.

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9/11 memorial and museum – 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels, left, and Museum Director Alice Greenwald speak during a tour. Several large artifacts from the original World Trade Center have been installed in the museum.

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9/11 memorial and museum – Part of the World Trade Center's original foundation, left, and the last column removed from the WTC site, center, are covered in a protective wrap during construction of the museum.

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9/11 memorial and museum – The "Cross," made of intersecting steel beams found in the rubble of 6 World Trade Center, and a fragment of a trident column, center, one of 84 that formed the exterior structure of each tower, are prepared for display.

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9/11 memorial and museum – The original stairway from the World Trade Center Plaza to Vesey Street, left, is seen at the museum.

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9/11 memorial and museum – The New York City Fire Department Engine Company 21 truck is covered in a protective wrap as it is prepared for display.

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9/11 memorial and museum – Contractors work to finish construction of the memorial and museum.

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9/11 memorial and museum – One World Trade Center rises above the lower Manhattan skyline in New York.

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Here's some background information about the rebuilding of Ground Zero in lower Manhattan and the memorial to the victims of the September 11th attacks.

September 11th Memorial:The memorial honors those killed on September 11, 2001 in all locations of the attack, as well as those killed on February 26, 1993, when terrorists set off a truck bomb in the basement of the World Trade Center.

April 28, 2003 - The World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition launches.

June 2003 - The Memorial Competition submission period closes. 13,683 people registered for the competition. 5,201 submissions are received from 63 nations.

November 19, 2003 - Eight prospective plans chosen from the submissions for a World Trade Center memorial are displayed for the public in the World Financial Center in New York.

January 6, 2004 - The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation announces its choice of "Reflecting Absence" by Israeli-born architect Michael Arad.

January 14, 2004 - Plans for the redesigned World Trade Center Memorial go public when the architect unveils his changes to "Reflecting Absence." The new plans include more greenery and park plazas around the reflecting pools that will go at the base of where the twin towers once stood and an underground museum.

September 10, 2005 - Supporters of the Take Back the Memorial campaign rally to protest the inclusion of an International Freedom Center (IFC) in New York's plans for the World Trade Center memorial.

September 28, 2005 - In a written statement, Governor George Pataki announces that plans for the International Freedom Center adjacent to the planned memorial at the World Trade Center site have been abandoned.

July 12, 2011 - More than 42,000 passes to the memorial are reserved in the first 24 hours they are made available.

September 11, 2011 - 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and dedication date for the 9/11 Memorial.

September 12, 2011 - The memorial opens to the public.

2012 - A dispute between the Port of Authority of New York and New Jersey delays construction of the 9/11 museum planned for the Memorial site. The museum was originally supposed to open on the 11th anniversary of 9/11.

September 10, 2012 - The budgetary dispute delaying the opening of the museum is resolved when all parties enter into a "memorandum of understanding," an agreement that allows them to restart construction.

May 15, 2014 - The National September 11 Memorial Museum opens its doors for the 9/11 community -- survivors, families, rescuers. Within it are 12,500 objects, 1,995 oral histories and 580 hours of film and video.

The LMDC also administers the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition, a separate process from that of rebuilding the World Trade Center area.

A 15-member board of directors governs the LMDC. The governor of New York and the mayor of New York City each appoint half of the members. The LMDC is also assisted by nine advisory councils.

According to an audit conducted by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the rebuilding cost has grown from approximately $11 billion in 2008 to the current estimate of approximately $14.8 billion.

July 16, 2002- The first round of designs for a new WTC site is put on display for public comment. The public rejects the six designs as being uninspired, and all are scrapped.

August 2002 - The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) invites architects and planners around the world to participate in an innovative design study for the future of the World Trade Center site and surrounding areas.

July 4, 2004- Construction at the Freedom Tower begins. A 20 ton slab of granite, inscribed "the enduring spirit of freedom," is laid as the cornerstone of one of the new skyscrapers that will stand on the site.

May 4, 2005- Governor Pataki calls for a redesign in the plans for the new tower for safety reasons.

June 29, 2005 - New York officials release the latest design for the signature building at the World Trade Center site after revising it to make the tower more secure.

September 6, 2005- Architect Santiago Calatrava and public officials dedicate the first steel rail for the future transportation station to be built at the World Trade Center site.

December 15, 2005- Architect Lord Norman Foster agrees to design the next major building planned for the World Trade Center site. Foster will design a 65-story tower for the northeast corner of the 16-acre site that real estate developer Larry Silverstein said will be completed by 2011.

April 26, 2006- The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and developer Larry Silverstein reach an agreement about the financing of Freedom Tower, resolving problems that had delayed construction at the WTC site.

March 26, 2009 - The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announces dropping the name "Freedom Tower," and that the first commercial lease in the building has been signed. Upon completion, the building will be named One World Trade Center.

July 2009 - Muslim investors purchase the property at 49-51 Park Place, two blocks north of the former World Trade Center.

May 7, 2010 - Community Board of Lower Manhattan votes unanimously in favor of the Cordoba House Project, which includes plans for a 15-story community center, mosque, performing arts center, gym, swimming pool and other public areas.

July 2010 - The Cordoba House Project is renamed Park51.

Summer 2010 - Protesters demonstrate against construction of the Islamic community center and mosque near Ground Zero.

August 3, 2010 - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks in favor of the center, that blocking the center would be an affront to religious freedom.

August 13, 2010 - President Barack Obama expresses his support for Park51, citing freedom of religion.

September 21, 2011 - The Park51 Islamic community center opens with the debut of NYChildren, a photography exhibit showcasing the portraits of New York City children originating from over 160 countries.

May 10, 2013 - Construction workers bolt the last pieces of a 408-foot spire into place atop One World Trade Center, bringing the building to a height of 1,776 feet. This height references the year the United States declared its independence. It also makes the building the tallest in the Western Hemisphere and the third tallest in the world.